Interannual variability of the ecosystem CO₂ fluxes at paludified spruce forest and ombrotrophic bog in southern taiga

Climate warming in high latitudes impacts CO2 sequestration of northern peatlands through the changes in both production and decomposition processes. The response of the net CO2 fluxes between ecosystems and the atmosphere to the climate change and weather anomalies can vary across the forest and non-forest peatlands. To better understand the differences in CO2 dynamics at forest and non-forest boreal peatlands induced by changes in environmental conditions the estimates of interannual variability of the net ecosystem exchange (NEE), total ecosystem respiration (TER) and gross primary production (GPP) was obtained at two widespread peatland ecosystems – paludified spruce forest and adjacent ombrotrophic bog in the southern taiga of west Russia using 6-year of paired eddy covariance flux measurements. The period of measurements (2015–2020) was characterized by both positive and negative annual and growing season air temperature and precipitation anomalies. Flux measurements showed that in spite of the lower growing season TER (332…339 gC∙m−2) and GPP (442…464 gC∙m−2) rates the bog had a lower NEE (−132…−108) than the forest excepting the warmest and the wettest year of the period and was a sink of atmospheric CO2 in the selected years while the forest was a CO2 sink or source between years depending on the environmental conditions. Growing season NEE at the forest site was between −142 and 28 gC∙m−2, TER between 1135 and 1366 gC∙m−2 and GPP between 1207 and 1462 gC∙m−2. Annual NEE at the forest was between −62 and 145 gC∙m−2, TER between 1429 and 1652 gC∙m−2 and GPP between 1345 and 1566 gC∙m−2 respectively. Anomalously warm winter with sparse and thin snow cover lead to the increased GPP as well as lower NEE in early spring at forest and to the increased spring TER at the bog. Also, the shifting of the compensation point to the earlier dates at the forest and to the later dates at the bog following the warmest winter of the period was detected. This study suggest that the warming in winter can increase CO2 uptake of the paludified spruce forests of southern taiga in non-growing season.

Controls on autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration in an ombrotrophic bog

Northern peatlands are globally significant carbon stores, but the sink strength may vary from year-to-year due to variations in environmental and biogeochemical conditions. This variation is mainly brought about by changes in primary production and ecosystem respiration. The processes that relate to variations in autotrophic respiration (AR; respiration by plant parts) are understood quite well, but heterotrophic respiration (HR; respiration by microbial bacteria in the soil, fungi, etc.) is crudely measured and modelled. This will lead to biased estimates if a change favours one form of respiration over another and alters allocations of carbon to labile pools with different turnover rates. HR has only recently been shown to be more intimately linked to vegetation dynamics than once thought, particularly in wetter, oligotrophic, sedge-dominated ecosystems. The objective of this study is to determine the factors that relate to the spatial and temporal variability in respiration and its autotrophic and heterotrophic components in an ombrotrophic bog (Mer Bleue) where woody shrubs are dominant, and to see if the more dynamic nature of HR in sedges also exists in this bog. Plot level measurements using manual chambers were used to partition respiration from both the dominant shrubs and the sparse sedges at the site, and the controls on respiration were explored by measuring a variety of environmental variables, such as air and soil temperatures (T) and water table (WT) depth. Results show that AR and HR correlate primarily with air and soil T, with WT depth playing an important role in some cases, and that a higher variability in respiration exists for the shrub plots than the sedge plots, especially when WT levels are more variable. Our findings also show that a plant’s response to changes in climate or land-use is related to different mechanisms of obtaining water resources and utilizing symbiotic relationships with other plants around them. These results will improve our understanding of peatland carbon cycling, as well as improve the conceptualization of HR.

Vegetation changes and plant wax biomarkers from an ombrotrophic bog define hydroclimate trends and human-environment interactions during the Holocene in northern Norway

Holocene climate records from northern Europe improve our understanding of important North Atlantic ocean and atmospheric circulation systems to long-term insolation-driven changes, as well as more rapid forcing and feedback mechanisms. Here we assess Holocene climate and environmental changes in northern Norway based on the analysis of pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils, and plant wax biomarkers from a high latitude ombrotrophic bog. We define the extent and thickness of Hollabåttjønnen Bog (0.16 km2), which is located 10 km north of Tromsø. Several cores were analyzed, including a 5.16-m core that spans the last 9.5 cal ka BP. Vegetation changes from several sites were reconstructed and the distribution and hydrogen isotopic composition (δD) of n-alkanes (C21–C33) were analyzed. Our data show several distinct climate intervals that primarily indicate changes in bog surface moisture. In the early Holocene (c. 9.5–7.7 cal ka BP), wetter conditions are defined by the presence of wetland sedges and grasses, higher concentrations of mid-chain length n-alkanes, and a similarity in δD values among homologs. A dry mid-Holocene (c. 7.7–3.8 cal ka BP) is inferred from the presence of a heath shrubland, low peat accumulations rates, and significant differences between δD values of mid- and long-chain length n-alkanes. The late Holocene (c. 3.8 cal ka BP-present) is marked by the onset of wetter conditions, lateral bog expansion, and an increase in sedges and grasses. The Hollabåttjønnen Bog record is also significant because its margins were an important location for human settlement. We correlate early Holocene environmental conditions with changes in Stone Age structures recently excavated, and we identify the occurrence of coprophilous fungi, such as Sporormiella and Sordaria, likely associated with reindeer grazing activity beginning c. 1 cal ka BP. This site therefore provides important regional paleoclimate information as well as context for evaluating local prehistoric human-environment interactions.

Postglacial wetland succession, carbon accumulation, and forest dynamics on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

ABSTRACTPeatland development and carbon accumulation on the Pacific coast of Canada have received little attention in paleoecological studies, despite wetlands being common landscape features. Here, we present a multi–proxy paleoenvironmental study of an ombrotrophic bog in coastal British Columbia. Following decreases in relative sea level, the wetland was isolated from marine waters by 13,300 cal yr BP. Peat composition, non-pollen palynomorph, and C and N analyses demonstrate terrestrialization from an oligotrophic lake to a marsh by 11,600 cal yr BP, followed by development of a poor fen, and then a drier ombrotrophic bog by 8700 cal yr BP. Maximum carbon accumulation occurred during the early Holocene fen stage, when seasonal differences in insolation were amplified. This highlights the importance of seasonality in constraining peatland carbon sequestration by enhancing productivity during summer and reducing decomposition during winter. Pollen analysis shows that Pinus contorta dominated regional forests by 14,000 cal yr BP. Warm and relatively dry summers in the early Holocene allowed Pseudotsuga menziesii to dominate lowland forests 11,200–7000 cal yr BP. Tsuga heterophylla and P. menziesii formed coniferous forest in the mid- and late Holocene. Tephra matching the mid-Holocene Glacier Peak–Dusty Creek assemblage provides evidence of its most northwesterly occurrence to date.